The Flash: "Invasion!"Review

Though technically the second chapter of The CW’s “four-night crossover event,” The Flash marked the true beginning of the big Invasion crossover tonight. As expected, there was a ton of appeal in seeing so many heroes joining forces on the small screen. But without a well-defined enemy to unify these heroes, it was often the Flashpoint-related character drama that propelled this first act.

What struck me most early on was how little time this episode devoted to bringing the various groups together. There was a very efficient, no-nonsense approach to Barry’s recruitment drive. Even the build-up to Supergirl’s appearance was short and sweet. When it comes to comic book crossovers, I tend to prefer the ones that don’t waste entire issues bringing the players together. So Invasion clearly has the right idea. That said, it was odd how slow this episode felt despite the rapid setup phase. The characters came together so quickly and then spent so much time training rather than actively combating the Dominators.

The Dominators themselves aren’t shaping up to be particularly deep antagonists, either. Not that the source material is all that rich, either, but at least in the Invasion comic the Dominators had two elements to distinguish them - their rigid caste system and the fact that they’re both threatened and intrigued by the prevalence of metahumans on Earth. Hopefully, that back-story will come into play more in the remaining two episodes. But for now, the Dominators are pretty much your typical alien invader villains, right down to their generic look.

Exit Theatre Mode

But at this early stage, the villains are less important than exploring the clash of personalities between heroes. And there was plenty of that to go around tonight. Here we had three distinct teams of heroes, all wary of one another and trying to learn how to work together. And that’s not even counting the invulnerable alien from another universe who gives everyone the willies. There were some very fun character moments to be had this week. Diggle, as usual, is effective as the everyman hero who can’t quite deal with being placed alongside metahumans and time-travelers. My favorite scene came when Kara butted heads with Mick, the only member of the massive group seemingly unimpressed by her incredible powers or alien status. The rivalry between “Skirt” and Heatwave looks to be one of the big highlights of the crossover.

Surprisingly, though, the writers tended to lean more on drama than humor as the team came together. And it mostly centered around Flashpoint fallout. Barry is the logical choice to lead this team, given that he’s sort of the connective tissue linking these heroes together, but he’s not exactly in the best place these days. He’s still struggling to regain the trust of friends like Cisco, and now his actions in Flashpoint are spiraling out to affect other heroes as well. Frankly, it’s about time. One of the biggest flaws of Season 3 so far has been the lack of tangible impact from Flashpoint. But between Cisco’s resurgent anger at Barry, Diggle learning the truth about Sara/John and now Stein discovering he has a daughter he never knew, it feels like that trend is finally shifting.

This episode also finally revealed the full message the older Barry left for the missing Rip Hunter. While it didn’t offer any earth-shattering ramifications, the message did cast further doubt on Barry’s ability to be an effective team leader. It made for a nice little internal struggle for Barry. The interaction between Barry and Ollie was especially strong in that regard. Grant Gustin and Stephen Amell are sort of the two elder statesman of the Arrow-verse at this point, and it was really satisfying seeing their bond strengthen here. Similarly, it was fun seeing Caitlin and Professor Stein pair off for bit and remind viewers that before Stein was a Legend, he was a key member of Team Flash.

The slower pace was a little frustrating at times, but ultimately it seemed for the best. It allowed the writers to emphasize Barry’s leadership crisis and the many clashing personalities. And it also enabled the episode to juggle the massive cast pretty elegantly. Everyone had their moment to shine, even more minor players like Felicity and Thea. But if there was one subplot that felt unnecessary and out of place, it was Wally’s. The Wally-related drama felt very forced this week. Why are Joe and Iris taking such a hard stance against properly training him? What are they hoping to accomplish with the cold shoulder approach?

The Flash: "Invasion" Photos

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David Ramsey as John Diggle, Willa Holland as Speedy, Melissa Benoist as Kara/Supergirl, Brandon Routh as Ray Palmer/Atom, Caity Lotz as Sara Lance/White Canary, Franz Drameh as Jefferson "Jax" Jackson and Dominic Purcell as Mick Rory/Heat Wave on The Flash

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David Ramsey as John Diggle, Willa Holland as Speedy, Melissa Benoist as Kara/Supergirl, Brandon Routh as Ray Palmer/Atom, Caity Lotz as Sara Lance/White Canary, Franz Drameh as Jefferson "Jax" Jackson and Dominic Purcell as Mick Rory/Heat Wave on The Flash

The Flash: "Invasion" Photos

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Here’s what I think is happening. I think we’re going to learn (possibly as soon as next week, given some of the teases made by Marc Guggenheim and Andrew Kreisberg) that Wally is destined to become Savitar. The idea being that this reluctance to allow Wally to embrace his inner superhero will somehow drive him to become a villain instead. Wally being the main villain of Season 3 could be a neat twist and a way of energizing what has so far been a very underwhelming speedster villain. But the process would have to be handled delicately and logically. And regardless of what direction Wally’s character arc is headed, there’s nothing particularly delicate or logical about how he’s being treated at the moment.

Slow though this episode was at times, it did pick up at the end as viewers were treated to the most epic superhero battle the Arrow-verse has ever conjured. Two speedsters and the Green Arrow would normally make for a formidable team, but not when their enemies include Supergirl, the Atom, Firestorm and multiple skilled fighters and marksmen. That two-pronged battle made for an exciting finale. The highlight, of course, being Flash putting his speed to the test against a brainwashed Supergirl. The spectacle of this massive superhero battle served as a welcome antidote to the disappointing battle between Flash and Savitar last week. That battle may not have put these heroes any closer to stopping the Dominators and whatever the heck it is they’re trying to accomplish, but it sure was fun to watch.

The Verdict

The Invasion crossover is shaping up pretty well so far, even if the alien villains aren't much to write home about yet. This episode focused more on exploring the clash of personalities that comes from putting so many superheroes in the same room. It also reinvigorated the ailing Flashpoint storyline. And if it took a fairly slow approach to setting up the "heroes vs. aliens" conflict, the final battle provided ample action and spectacle.

Great

The Invasion crossover got off to a good start, but one that focused more on Flashpoint fallout than aliens.